New York S 444: Relates to recovery of overpayments of unemployment benefits; repealer

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S00444 Summary:

BILL NOS00444 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORHOYLMAN-SIGAL

&nbsp

COSPNSRFERNANDEZ, JACKSON, KRUEGER, RAMOS

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

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Add §594-a, rpld §597 sub 4, amd §600, Lab L

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Provides that any claimant who has received certain unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled shall not be held liable for the amounts overpaid provided certain conditions exist; directs the department of labor to provide claimants who have previously been denied waivers with applications for individual waivers; repeals certain provisions of law relating thereto.

Go to top S00444 Actions:

BILL NOS00444 

&nbsp

01/08/2025REFERRED TO LABOR

Go to topS00444 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS00444 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS00444 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 444

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
 when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the recovery of overpay-
 ments of unemployment benefits; to direct the department of labor to
 provide claimants who have previously been denied waivers with appli-
 cations for individual waivers; and to repeal certain provisions of
 such law relating thereto

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 594-a to
 2 read as follows:
 3 § 594-a. Recovery of overpayments. (1) Definitions. For the purposes
 4 of this section:
 5 (a) "Without fault" means the claimant did not, with the intent to
 6 receive benefits, intentionally supply false information or knowingly
 7 omit information, which directly resulted in the department issuing
 8 benefits to which the claimant knew they were not entitled;
 9 (b) "Final determination" means thirty days after appeal rights have
 10 been exhausted or abandoned.
 11 (c) "Willful misrepresentation" or "willful false statement" means an
 12 intentional, knowing, or deliberately false representation from the
 13 claimant to the department, made in order to obtain unemployment insur-
 14 ance benefits. "Knowing" for the purposes of this paragraph means having
 15 actual knowledge.
 16 (2) Notwithstanding any provision of section five hundred ninety-four
 17 of this title to the contrary, any claimant who has received benefits
 18 under the provisions of this article on or after January twenty-seventh,
 19 two thousand twenty, to which they were not entitled shall not be held
 20 liable for the amounts overpaid provided that all of the following
 21 conditions exist:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD01904-01-5

 S. 444 2

 1 (a) Such overpayment was not due to a willful false statement or
 2 misrepresentation;
 3 (b) Such overpayment was received without fault on the part of the
 4 claimant; and
 5 (c) The recovery of such overpayment would be against equity and good
 6 conscience.
 7 (3) When determining whether an overpayment was received without fault
 8 on the part of the claimant, the commissioner shall consider the follow-
 9 ing factors:
 10 (a) The nature and cause of such overpayment and the capacity of the
 11 claimant to recognize the error resulting in such overpayment;
 12 (b) Whether the claimant knew or reasonably should have known that
 13 such claimant was not lawfully entitled to receive such benefits;
 14 (c) Whether the benefits were received or retained because of the
 15 claimant's good faith reliance on an administrative or departmental
 16 error; and
 17 (d) Whether the claimant willfully reported or failed to report infor-
 18 mation which resulted in such overpayment.
 19 (4) (a) There shall be a presumption that the claimant is without
 20 fault if:
 21 (i) the department provided conflicting, changing, or confusing infor-
 22 mation or instructions;
 23 (ii) the department took more than six months to implement a federal
 24 law regarding proof of eligibility from claimants;
 25 (iii